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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 1 40
"Brock is like a second son to Joe.
"But you know that when Jim (Chaney) is around,
there is laughter, and lots of it."
Tiller showed his competitive juices were still flow-
ing, engaging Brees in a game of Cribbage. Tiller, who
has played the game for years, faced a newbie in Brees.
Yet Brees, maybe the most competitive man alive, didn't
take it easy on the former coach.
"Drew crushed him," Morales said. "Part of me said
the Coach was taking it easy on Drew, but I am not 100
percent sure. It was great to see those two go at it, but
it shouldn't be a surprise that Drew catches on quick
in everything, including Cribbage."
An added bonus for Morales was getting to spend
some quality time with Brees, something not easy to do
with Brees being a national celebrity.
"Unless you are in Drew's tightest circle, it is hard to
get much time with him, which I totally understand,"
Morales said. "But the first night, we hung out in Til-
ler's basement and just talked shop for a couple hours
and that was extra special."
The get-together moved from Tiller's home on the
first night to their family-owned Italian restaurant in
downtown Buffalo. Tiller's daughter Renee runs Pie
Zanos, and it is the place to go in the town of about
4,600 residents. It proved to be the right place to host
the anniversary party.
"It really is a cool little town," Quinn said. "The city of
Buffalo has benefited greatly by Joe and Arnette living
there, that's for sure."
Tom Schott, senior associate athletic director of com-
munications who was at the gathering with his wife
Jane, said the timing could not have been better for the
anniversary celebration.
"It was the best medicine one could have had for
Joe," said Tom Schott, who has hosted the Tillers on
their many return trips to West Lafayette over the years.
"He looked like a different person by the time we left.
"It was night and day."
For Dorsch and many of the guys, it was just an op-
portunity to say thanks to the man who was tough on
them, but has meant so much. Tiller was sincere and
even a bit solemn as he said he loved each and every
one of them. That's heady stuff coming from the crusty
old coach.
"I pointed at my wife and at my kids and talked
about my job
and the lessons
that I learned
from him as a
player," Dorsch
said in one of
his private mo-
ments he had
with Tiller. "I
said, 'I hope
that seeing
guys 20 years
later allows you
to reflect a bit
on some of the
lessons that you
taught us.'
"I think he
was trying to
hold back a tear
but wasn't suc-
cessful."
j
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